The
Foreign Exchange Famine

With
independence came expectations of a better life. New governments
promised modernization and prosperity. Leaders and citizens alike
hoped to share in the economic success of the industrial Western
world. To do this, they needed money, not just their own "soft"
currencies, but foreign exchange in the form of internationally
accepted "hard" currencies.

Where
would the newly independent countries find the capital and additional
liquidity needed to modernize and grow their economies?